Stay Tooned—Comics legend Scott McCloud will make a rare appearance at the Art Center Design College (5000 Marble NE) this Wednesday, July 18, in an event sponsored by the North Fourth Art Center and 7000 BC, a collective of New Mexico comics creators. Locus Magazine once called McCloud “arguably the most important cartoonist alive.” He's been on a marathon tour of all 50 states promoting his new book Making Comics, and the final leg is bringing him to New Mexico. Tickets are $10 and McCloud's presentation begins at 7 p.m. For details, call 254-7575 (College) or 344-4542 (North Fourth).

Dana Goldberg follows her stand-up dream across controversial territories

Bubbly and frank, Dana Goldberg makes the counter guy laugh as she orders her coffee. She's got so much energy this weekday morning, it's hard to believe she needs any wake-up juice. I stir my own cup and hope I'll be able to keep up with her speedy, nimble conversation style and worry that she's going to be shooting for flashy and funny the whole time.

Webgame reviews for you and me

Sometimes it's hard to tell where the line between videogames and art is drawn (just check out this week’s feature, “Applied Ludology”). It may be easy to argue that blood and guts and gore in gaming isn't art but gratuitous violence, but what do you suppose early critics of Hamlet or Macbeth said about the bodies lying on the floor? Many videogames are visually appealing and jam-packed with detailed storylines and character development. While videogames may not traditionally be art, they surely have crossed into the artistic domain, and with the rise of free, casual gaming on the Web, it's never been easier to indulge in some modern art.